New Delhi, April 12 (IANS) To implement social distancing amid the fear of coronavirus spread, Delhi's busy Azadpur Mandi will now have separate timing for vegetables and fruits, with Odd-Even scheme implemented for stall numbers.

According to Adil Ahmad Khan, chairman of the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), Azadpur Mandi, the stalls with even numbers will operate on even dates while those with odd numbers will operate on odd dates.

"The Mandi will now follow the Odd-Even rule. Stalls with odd numbers will open on dates ending with odd numbers and vice versa," he said.

He also said in order to maintain and enforce social distancing in the Azadpur Mandi,vegetables and fruits will be sold at different times.

While vegetables will be sold between 6 and 11 a.m., the timing for fruits will be between 2 and 6 p.m., he tweeted.

The scheme was taken from Delhi government's flagship road rotation scheme -- 'Odd-Even', to check air pollution by controlling the number of vehicles on the road.

The government has also installed full body sanitisation tunnels spraying disinfectant automatically on people at the gates of Azadpur Mandi.

Other Mandis in the city also took preventive steps amid coronavirus fear.

While the Mehrauli Sabzi Mandi (Vegetable market) is temporarily relocated at the DTC bus terminal in the area, the number of trucks entering the Najafgarh Anaj Mandi were limited to 150 per day between 6 and 11 a.m. along with only one farmer and one driver to avoid crowds at the mandi.The Najafgarh Sabzi Mandi has also been shifted to Village Haibatpura in view of the corona virus situation to maintain appropriate social distancing.

--IANS

nks/vd